SINGAPORE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Climate change is set to
drive the spread of invasive plant and animals species,
threatening forests, fisheries and crops, in a double blow to
nature and livelihoods, a World Bank-funded report said on
Friday.
The study by Nairobi-based Global Invasive Species Programme
says a warmer world, more extreme weather and higher levels of
planet-warming carbon dioxide will give some species an edge,
devasting ecosystems at sea and on land.

"The estimated damage from invasive species worldwide
totals more than $1.4 trillion annually -- 5 percent of the
global economy," says the report issued on the sidelines of a
major U.N. meeting in Japan aimed at combatting the destruction
of nature.

The United Nations says climate change, pollution,
deforestation and over-hunting have led to a rapid rise in
extinctions, threatening the richness of nature that underpins
services such as clean air, water as well as food and health.

"Individually, climate change and invasive species present
two of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the provision
of valuable ecosystem services," says the report for
policymakers.

It outlines myriad examples of invasive plants and animals
that have proven much more adept at survival than other local
species, leading to erosion, damage to crops, livestock and
fisheries and lost income for tourism.
Continued...